Victor Kraatz
Victor Kraatz with Shae-Lynn Bourne.
Born	(1971-04-07)April 7, 1971 (age 53) West Berlin,West Germany
Height	1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)
Figure skating career
Country	Canada
Retired	2003
Medal record Figure skating:Ice dancing Representing Canada World Championships 2003 Washington, D.C. Ice dancing 2002 Nagano Ice dancing 1999 Helsinki Ice dancing 1998 Minneapolis Ice dancing 1997 Lausanne Ice dancing 1996 Edmonton Ice dancing Four Continents Championships 2003 Beijing Ice dancing 2001 Salt Lake City Ice dancing 1999 Halifax Ice dancing Grand Prix Final 2001–2002 Kitchener Ice dancing 1998–1999 St. Petersburg Ice dancing 1997–1998 Colorado Springs Ice dancing

Victor Kraatz,MSC (born April 7, 1971) is a Canadian formerice dancer. In 2003, he and his partner,Shae-Lynn Bourne, became the first North American ice dancers to win a World Championship.

Born on April 7, 1971, inWest Berlin, Victor Kraatz grew up inSwitzerland.^[1] At age 15, he moved toVancouver,British Columbia, Canada.^[2]

Kraatz married Finnish ice dancerMaikki Uotila on June 19, 2004, inHelsinki, Finland. They have two sons – Oliver, born September 14, 2006, in North Vancouver, British Columbia; and Henry, born on July 10, 2010.^[2][3]

Kraatz began to skate in 1980.^[1] In Switzerland, former pair skaters Mona and Peter Szabo taught him basic skills.^[2] His first ice dancing partner was Analisa Beltrami of Switzerland.

After his move to Canada, Kraatz was coached by Joanne Sloman inVancouver, British Columbia. In the early 1990s, he switched to Eric Gillies and Josee Picard inMontreal, Quebec.^[2] He had a partnership with Taryn O'Neill.

On April 20, 1991, Kraatz began skating withShae-Lynn Bourne, who had been apair skater until that time. Bourne tried out with him inBoucherville,Quebec, on the suggestion of a coach, Paul Wirtz.^[4]

During their career, Bourne and Kraatz were coached at various times byTatiana Tarasova,Natalia Dubova,Uschi Keszler,Marina Klimova andSergei Ponomarenko, andNikolai Morozov.

According to figure skating writer and historian Ellyn Kestnbaum, their performance emphasized the athleticism of ice dance instead of the traditional ballroom style approach.^[5]

In 1993, Bourne and Kraatz came in 14th place at theWorld Championships. A year later, at the 1994 Winter Olympics, they came in "a respectable" 10th place. In 1995, they came in fourth place atWorlds.^[6]

For the 1996—1997 season, "in response to suggestions that they increase the complexity and danciness of their free skate",^[5] they used music from the 1956 movieHigh Society, in which they used a mostly athletic and non-narrative approach with mostlyquickstep andswing rhythms that emphasized the soft knees they were known for. Kestnbaum also stated, "Only their costumes and the occasional reliance on traditional dance holds suggested any gendered identity for each partner".^[5] Their choice of rhythms allowed them to continue to emphasize their technique and athleticism while following the sport's rules and guidelines, but without depending upon "the erotic narratives attached to other ballroom rhythms".^[5] As a result, both partners were able to present themselves as athletes capable of executing positions and able to support each other's weight, while following the ice dance traditions of "male-female couplehood".^[5] in this way, along with their choice of dance holds, rhythms, and costumes, they were able to establish their performance within the sport's ballroom dance traditions.^[5]

For the 1997–98 season, their free dance was modeled afterRiverdance, with footwork instruction provided by Riverdance lead dancerColin Dunne. Bourne and Kraatz became known for their deep edges and soft knees. They were credited with perfecting and popularizing thehydroblading technique.^{[citation needed]} The program included a great amount of up-and-down hops in place on their toes and side-by-side footwork.^[7] They won theGrand Prix Finals in 1997. At the1998 Winter Olympics, they came in fourth place.^[6]

In 1999, they won the gold medal atFour Continents.^[6] In 2000, Bourne and Kraatz choreographed their own free dance program; it was first season vocal music was allowed in ice dance, so their music was set to vocal selections byHarry Connick, Jr.^[8] They missed the2000 Four Continents and2000 World Championships due to Bourne's knee surgery.^[9] In spring 2000, they changed coaches, moving toTatiana Tarasova andNikolai Morozov inNewington, Connecticut.^[10] They returned to competition in 2001, and came in first place atFour Continents and fourth place atWorlds.^[6]

Bourne and Kraatz withdrew from their 2002 Grand Prix events due to Bourne's injury.^[1] They won their tenth Canadian national title and their third Four Continents title.^{[citation needed]} They competed at the Olympics for the third time in2002 and came in fourth place. They also won the gold medal at theGrand Prix Finals and came in second place atWorlds that year. Bourne and Kraatz went on to win the gold medal at the2003 Four Continents and become the first World champions in ice dance from North America, winning gold at the2003 World Championships inWashington, D.C.^[6] They retired from competition at the end of the season.

On October 21, 2003, they announced the end of their partnership; while Bourne enjoyed show skating, Kraatz said he wanted "to experiment with other things and follow up on other dreams that I have".^[11] In January 2007, they were inducted into the Skate Canada Hall of Fame.^[12]

Kraatz represented CPA Boucherville inBoucherville,Quebec.^[1]

After retiring from skating, Kraatz studied marketing and began working at a marketing agency inYaletown,British Columbia.^[2]

In 2005, Kraatz joined the B.C. Centre of Excellence.^[12] He went on to coachAllie Hann-McCurdy /Michael Coreno,^[12]Carolina Hermann /Daniel Hermann,^[13] andDanielle O'Brien /Gregory Merriman.^[14] In the winter of 2012–13 season, he switched to coaching hockey players.^[2]

(with Bourne)

(with Bourne)

GP: Part of Champions Series from 1995–96 season, renamed Grand Prix series in 1998–99

Wikimedia Commons has media related toVictor Kraatz.

• Official website
• Shae-Lynn Bourne / Victor Kraatz at theInternational Skating Union
• 1997 World Figure Skating Championships, Free Dance

• 1971 births
• Living people
• Canadian male ice dancers
• Figure skaters at the 1994 Winter Olympics
• Figure skaters at the 1998 Winter Olympics
• Figure skaters at the 2002 Winter Olympics
• Figure skaters from Berlin
• Figure skaters from Vancouver
• German emigrants to Canada
• Recipients of the Meritorious Service Decoration
• Olympic figure skaters for Canada
• World Figure Skating Championships medalists
• Four Continents Figure Skating Championships medalists
• 20th-century Canadian sportsmen
• 21st-century Canadian sportsmen

• Articles with short description
• Short description matches Wikidata
• Pages using infobox figure skater with unknown parameters
• All articles with unsourced statements
• Articles with unsourced statements from September 2023
• Articles with unsourced statements from October 2024
• Commons category link from Wikidata